The Year in Beer – Chicago and Beyond, 2012

Now that 2012 is coming to a close, we thought we’d go back and poke through the archives and the year of news to break down exactly what happened in one of the most crazy, busy, insane, explosive, expansive, interesting years in Chicago brewing history.January 1, 2012: Happy new year, y’all! Hopefully something interesting will happen in the world of Chicago beer this year…

March 6:Pipeworks Brewing officially releases their first beers, Ninja Vs. Unicorn and End of Days. Josh Noel at the Tribune said they debuted “to the drinker’s equivalent of a standing ovation,” while when we tried the End of Days we called it “portrait art versus Jackson Pollack. It’s Rush’s 2112 versus the Misfits.”

March 26: Lakeview gets a little more interesting when Eater announces that Dryhop Bistro & Microbrewery is planning to open up on Broadway in a former “adult novelty” store. Collaborations between the Dryhop guys and other Chicago brewers follow throughout 2012.

April 1: Happy birthday to us! We turn two, and we wonder why we decided to pick April Fools Day as a birthday knowing full well that the internet goes all silly every year on this date.

April 2: This is no joke: Ravenswood’s Argyle Brewing announces that they’re now Begyle Brewing. More on them later.

April 10: In what has to be the biggest beer news of the year, Tony McGee announces via Twitter that he’s planning a massive 250-bbl brewhouse for his Lagunitas Brewing, to open in Chicago in late 2013.

April 12: Pretty much cementing that cider was going to be the big new thing, Greg Hall debuts his Red Streak at an event at the Hideout.

April 16: New Chicago Beer (who changed their name from New Chicago Brewing in October 2011) announces that they’re leaving The Plant, the vertical zero-waste farm that had been much of the focal point of their startup. They’ve been barely heard from since.

April 26: The Chicago Tribune posts a feature about Three Floyds, in which they mention that Nick Floyd is scouting spots for a Chicago-based brewpub. Unsurprisingly, Chicago beer fans freak the eff out immediately.

April 27: We announce our “South of 80″ event at The Green Lady, followed by the tap list announcement a couple of weeks later.

May 19: They started pouring at events for Chicago Craft Beer Week a couple of days earlier, but since their taproom officially opened on this date, we’ll call this the “official” start date for Solemn Oath in Naperville, one of our favorite new breweries to emerge onto the scene this year (based on names of beers alone).

June 19: Fountainhead finally opens their rooftop patio, with one of the most extensive canned beer menus in the nation. We visited and reported back, saying “[we] can’t think of a better place to sit outside and drink a craft beer;” Stockyard Chicago dug it as well.’

July 6: Had you ever heard of One Trick Pony brewing south of Chicago before this date? Well, we had, but you probably didn’t until we posted this tale of FOIA-ing, ILCC tracking, and generally tracking down all the info about this under-the-radar brewer.

August 2: Hopothesis Brewing Company officially debuts at the Beer Bistro, pouring their Hopothesis IPA.

August 10: Here’s something pretty much no one expected: Goose Island’s John J. Hall heads to the South Side to take over as Brewmaster of 5 Rabbit.

August 12: The Detroit Free Press announces that Michigan’s apple crop was virtually wiped out this year; terrible news for cider producers. We check in a day later with Paul at Vander Mill Cider to get his take.

August 18: The Oak Park Micro Brew & Food Review takes place, which is also the first official event for Begyle Brewing. We preview the event here.

October 15: Another major west-coast brewer announces plans to come to Chicago on this date, this time it’s Deschutes. Their beloved Black Butte Porter, among others, will be released in early January. On the same day, breweries in Illinois cart home nearly a dozen medals from the Great American Beer Festival.

October 31: Happy Halloween! The ILCC says that Anheuser-Busch can keep their 30% stake in City Beverage. Other distributors? Not super happy with that decision.

November 2: Half Acre opens their tap room, making Lincoln Avenue and North Center even more of an awesome place to drink beer. (Remember when we said Lincoln Avenue was the best drinking street in Chicago? This cements it). We also go all Nostradamus on the City Beverage vote.

November 21:Following the Schadenfreude of the New York Times review, how could we not go to Guy Fieri’s Times Square restaurant and drink their beer?

November 23: Our friends at 4 Paws Brewing announce they’ve nailed down a space for their production brewery on N. Wolcott, just a hop-skip-jump from Metropolitan Brewing on Ravenswood. With that squared away, they announce their goal is to be pouring at Chicago’s Craft Beer Week 2013.

November 27: Completing the “people leaving Goose Island” trifecta, the Tribune breaks the story that John Laffler is departing Goose to partner with former Two Brothers brewer Dave Bleitner on their new project, Off Color Brewing. They promise “very bizarre beer no one has heard of or knows about” which immediately appeals directly to us. These guys shot to the top of the Breweries to Watch List 2013 (which doesn’t exist, but if it did, they’d be up there).

December 5: Spiteful Brewing’s first offering, GFY Stout, hits shelves around Chicago. (Our review can be found here.)

December 12: The “Best Beer In The World” hits shelves for a hot second or two; we call it the #Westypocalpse and grab a 6’er for ourselves as well. Good luck with the roof, you crazy brewin’ monks, you.

December 17: The end of the year doesn’t mean that news can’t be made. Today it was announced that the city’s biggest independent craft beer distributor, Windy City, with dozens of accounts with top name craft beer makers, has sold itself to Reyes Beverage, where it will be sibling to Chicago Beverage Systems.

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About the Author

Karl

Karl has written about food, travel and beer for Chicago Magazine, Draft Magazine, Time Out Chicago and more. He also helms the GDB social media outreach and prefers a good porter over just about anything.